Keep in mind that the San Diegan was a local train and thus would not be as widely known to the general public as the long-distance "Chief" trains. It wouldn't have mattered much to the ATSF management whether Amtrak provided decent service on the San Diegan route; this was certainly not the case with the "Chief" trains, since those trains had earned a well-deserved reputation for providing a high standard of service and the "Chief" name was practically synonymous with "Santa Fe".